Prophet Muhammad

Who Is the Prophet Muhammad
التعريف بالنبي الكريم

Muhammad was born in Makkah in the year 570. Since his father died before his birth and his mother died shortly thereafter, he was raised by his uncle who was from the respected tribe of Quraysh. He was raised illiterate, unable to read or write, and remained so till his death. His people, before his mission as a prophet, were ignorant of science and most of them were illiterate. As he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous, and sincere. He was so trustworthy that they called him the Trustworthy. Muhammad was very religious, and he had long detested the decadence and idolatry of his society.
At the age of forty, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. The revelations continued for twenty-three years, and they are collectively known as the Quran.
As soon as he began to recite the Quran and to preach the truth which God had revealed to him, he and his small group of followers suffered persecution from unbelievers. The persecution grew so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the command to emigrate. This emigration from Makkah to the city of Madinah, some 260 miles to the north, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
After several years, Muhammad and his followers were able to return to Makkah, where they forgave their enemies. Before Muhammad died, at the age of sixty-three, the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula had become Muslim, and within a century of his death, Islam had spread to Spain in the West and as far East as China. Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the truth and clarity of its doctrine. Islam calls for faith in only one God, Who is the only one worthy of worship.
The Prophet Muhammad was a perfect example of an honest, just, merciful, compassionate, truthful, and brave human being. Though he was a man, he was far removed from all evil characteristics and strove solely for the sake of God and His reward in the Hereafter. Moreover, in all his actions and dealings, he was ever mindful and fearful of God

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The Simple Life of Muhammad

If we compare the life of Muhammad before his mission as a
prophet and his life after he began his mission as a prophet, we will conclude that it is beyond reason to think that Muhammad was a false prophet, who claimed prophethood to attain material gains, greatness, glory, or power.
Before his mission as a prophet, Muhammad had no financial worries. As a successful and reputed merchant, Muhammad drew a satisfactory and comfortable income. After his mission as a prophet and because of it, he became worse off materially. To clarify this more, let us browse the following sayings on his life:
Aa’isha, Muhammad’s wife, said, “O my nephew, we would sight three new moons in two months without lighting a fire (to **** a meal) in the Prophet’s houses.” Her nephew asked, “O Aunt, what sustained you?” She said, “The two black things, dates and water, but the Prophet had some Ansar neighbors who had milk-giving she-camels and they used to send the Prophet some of its milk.”

Sahl Ibn Sa’ad, one of Muhammad’s companions, said, “The Prophet of God did not see bread made from fine flour from the time God sent him (as a prophet) until he died.”

Aa’isha, Muhammad’s wife, said, “The mattress of the Prophet , on which he slept, was made of leather stuffed with the fiber of the date-palm tree.”

Amr Ibn Al-Hareth, one of Muhammad’s companions, said that when the Prophet died, he left neither money nor anything else except his white riding mule, his arms, and a piece of land which he left to charity.
Muhammad lived this hard life till he died although the Muslim treasury was at his disposal, the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula was Muslim before he died, and the Muslims were victorious after eighteen years of his mission.
Is it possible that Muhammad might have claimed prophet hood in order to attain status, greatness, and power? The desire to enjoy status and power is usually associated with good food, fancy clothing, monumental palaces, colorful guards, and indisputable authority. Do any of these indicators apply to Muhammad ? A few glimpses of his life that may help answer this question follow.
Despite his responsibilities as a prophet, a teacher, a statesman, and a judge, Muhammad used to milk his goat, mend his clothes, repair his shoes, help with the household work, and visit poor people when they got sick. He also helped his companions in digging a trench by moving sand with them. His life was an amazing model of simplicity and humbleness.

Muhammad’s followers loved him, respected him, and trusted him to an amazing extent. Yet he continued to emphasize that deification should be directed to God and not to him personally. Anas, one of Muhammad’s companions, said that there was no person whom they loved more than the Prophet Muhammad , yet when he came to them, they did not stand up for him because he hated their standing up for him, as other people do with their great people.

Long before there was any prospect of success for Islam and at the outset of a long and painful era of torture, suffering, and persecution of Muhammad and his followers, he received an interesting offer. An envoy of the pagan leaders, Otba, came to him saying, “...If you want money, we will collect enough money for you so that you will be the richest one of us. If you want leadership, we will take you as our leader and never decide on any matter without your approval. If you want a kingdom, we will crown you king over us...” Only one concession was required from Muhammad in return for that, to give up calling people to Islam and worshipping God alone without any partner. Wouldn’t this offer be tempting to one pursuing worldly benefit? Was Muhammad hesitant when the offer was made? Did he turn it down as a bargaining strategy leaving the door open for a better offer? The following was his answer: {In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful} And he recited to Otba the verses of the Quran 41:1-38. The Following are some of these verses:
A revelation from (God), the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; a Book whereof the verses are explained in detail; a Quran in Arabic, for people who know, giving good news and warning, yet most of them turn away, so they do not listen. (Quran, 41:2-4)

On another occasion and in response to his uncle’s plea to stop calling people to Islam, Muhammad’s answer was as decisive and sincere: {I swear by the name of God, O Uncle!, that if they place the sun in my right-hand and the moon in my left-hand in return for giving up this matter (calling people to Islam), I will never desist until either God makes it triumph or I perish defending it}

Muhammad and his few followers did not only suffer from
persecution for thirteen years but the unbelievers even tried to kill Muhammad several times. On one occasion they attempted to kill him by dropping a large boulder, which could barely be lifted, on his head. Another time they tried to kill him by poisoning his food. What could justify such a life of suffering and sacrifice even after he was fully triumphant over his adversaries? What could explain the humbleness and nobility which he demonstrated in his most glorious moments when he insisted that success is due only to God’s help and not to his own genius? Are these the characteristics of a power-hungry or a self-centered man?

Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was an illiterate but wise and well-respected man, a member of the ruling Quraysh tribe, who was born in Makkah in the year 570 C.E.*, at a time when Christianity was not yet fully established in Europe . He was orphaned at an early age and then raised by his uncle Abu Talib
As Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) grew up, he became known for his truthfulness, generosity and sincerity, so that he was sought after for his ability to arbitrate in disputes. His reputation and personal qualities also led to his marriage at the age of 25 to Khadijah, a widow whom he had assisted in business. From then on, he became an important and trusted citizen of Makkah. Historians describe him as calm and meditative.

Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) never felt ******* to be part of his society whose values were devoid of true religious significance. He never worshiped idols and never drank alcohol, although drinking was widespread in Arabian society at that time. It became his habit to retreat from time to time to meditate in the cave of Hira ’ near the summit of Jabal An-Nur, the “ Mountain of Light ”, near Makkah.
At the age of 40, while engaged in one such meditative retreat, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) received his first revelation from Allah (God) through the Angel Gabriel (Jibril). This revelation, which continued for twenty-three years, is known as the Qur’an.
The Early Message
His first convert was his wife Khadijah, whose support and companionship provided necessary reassurance and strength. He also won the support of some of his relatives and friends. The basic themes of the early message were the majesty of the One, Unique God; the futility of idol worship; the threat of judgment; and the necessity of faith, compassion and morality in human affairs.
All these themes represented an attack on the crass materialism and idolatry prevalent in Makkah at the time. So when he began to proclaim the message to others, the Makkans rejected him. He and his small group of followers suffered bitter persecution. Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his followers drew comfort from the knowledge revealed to him about other Prophets, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, each of whom had also been persecuted and tested.
Emigration
The persecution by the Makkans grew so fierce that in the year 622 c.e., thirteen years after the beginning of the revelation, Allah (God) commanded the Muslims to emigrate. This event, the Hijrah (migration), in which they left Makkah for the city of Madinah , some 433 km (260 miles) to the north, marked the beginning of a new era and thus the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
In Madinah the Muslims were able to live, worship, and spread their message in peace. During this period, the revelations of the Qur'an mainly dealt with the Muslims' relationships with family members, the community of believers, and the non-Muslims
The Quraysh in Makkah continued their efforts to stop the growth of Islam and forced the Muslims to fight several battles. Finally a truce was called and the Treaty of Hudaybiyah was signed to bring an end to hostilities.
When the Makkans broke the truce two years later, the Muslims set off to fight them. However, on seeing the size of the Muslim army, the Makkans surrendered. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his followers entered the city peacefully, where they forgave their enemies and established Islam definitively.
By the time the Prophet died at the age of 63, ten years after the Hijrah, the greater part of Arabia had accepted Islam. Within a century of his death, Islam had spread as far west as Spain and as far east as China . It was clear that the message was not limited to Arabs; it was for the whole of humanity. In the Qur’an, Allah describes Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as (a mercy to the worlds) (21:107, Shakir’s translation).
Although Muhammad is deeply loved, revered and emulated by Muslims as Allah’s final Messenger, he is not an object of worship.
* C.E. stands for Common Era, which is the period coinciding with the Christian era

According to the Bible, God said to Moses, on whom be peace: " I will raise upfor them a prophet like you from among their brothers, I will put my words inhis mouth, and he will tell them 'everything I command him" (The Holy Bible, NewInternational Version, Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18).

The prophet described in the above verse must have the following threecharacteristics:
1. He will be like Moses.
2. He will come from the brothers of theIsraelites, i.e. the Ishmaelites.
3. God will put his words in the mouth ofthe prophet and he will declare what God commanded him.
Let ussee which prophet God was speaking of.

1. The prophet like Moses
Some people feel that thisprophecy refers to the prophet Jesus, on whom be peace. But, although Jesus(peace be upon him and all of God's prophets and messengers) was truly a prophetof God, he is not the prophet spoken of here. He was born miraculously, andfinally God raised him up miraculously. On the other hand, Muhammad is more likeMoses; both were born in a natural way and both died natural deaths.

2.From among the Ishmaelite
Abraham had two sons, Ishmael andIsaac (Genesis, chapter 21). Ishmael became the grandfather of the Arab nation.And Isaac became the grandfather of Jewish nation. The prophet spoken of was tocome not from among the Jews themselves, but from among their brothers, theIshmaelite. Muhammad a descendant of Ishmael, is indeed that prophet.

3.God will put his words in his mouth
" Neither the ******* of therevelation, nor its form, were of Muhammad's devising. Both were given by theangel, and Muhammad's task was only to repeat what he heard" (Word Religionsfrom Ancient history to the Present, by Geoffrey Parrinder, p.472).

God sent the angel Gabriel to teach Muhammad the exact wordsthat he should repeat to the people. The words are therefore not his own; theydid not come from his own thoughts, but were put into his mouth by the angel.These are written down in the Qur'an word for word, exactly as they came fromGod.

Now that we know that prophet we must listen to him,for, according to the Bible, God says: 'I will punish anyone who refuses to obeyhim' (Good News Bible, Deut. 18:19).

As for compassion, tenderness and mercy to all creation, Allah said about him: "Grievous to him is what you suffer, anxious for you, compassionate is he, merciful to the believers." (10:128) Allah says: "We only sent you as a mercy to all the worlds." (21:107)

Part of his excellence is that Allah gave him two of His names, saying: "merciful, compassionate to the believers."

Ibn Shihab said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went on a raid [and he mentioned Hunayn]. The Messenger of Allah gave Safwan ibn Umayya a hundred camels, then a hundred, then a hundred." Ibn Shihab said, "Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab related that Safwan said, 'By Allah, he gave me what he gave me. He was the most hated of people to me and he continued to give to me until he was the most beloved of people to me.'

It is related that a bedouin came asking for something from him. He gave the man something and said, "Have I been good to you?" The bedouin said, "No, you have not and you have not done well." The Muslims became angry and went for him. The Prophet indicated that they should hold off. Then the Prophet got up and went into his house. Then the Prophet sent for him and added something to his gift and said, "Have I been good to you?" The bedouin replied, "Yes, may Allah repay you well in family and tribe." The Prophet said, "You said what you said and that angered my Companions. If you like, say what you said in my presence in their presence so as to remove what they harbour in their breasts against you." He said, "Yes." He came back later and the Prophet said, "This bedouin said what he said and then we gave him more. He claims that he is *******. Isn't that so?" He said, "Yes, may Allah repay you well in your family and tribe." The Prophet said, "The example of this man and me is like a man who has a she-camel who bolts from him. People chase it and they only make it shy away more. The owner calls to them to stay clear of him and his she-camel, saying, 'I am more compassionate and better to it than you.' He goes in front of it and takes some clods of dirt and drives it back until it comes and kneels. He saddles and mounts it. If I had given you your heads when the man said what he said, you would have killed him and he would have entered the Fire."(Al-Bazzar from Abu Hurayra)

It is related that the Prophet said, "None of you should come to me with anything about any of my Companions for I do not want to go out to you except with a clear heart.” (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi from Ibn Mas'ud)

Part of his compassion towards his community was that he made things easy for them. He disliked doing certain things out of the fear that they would become obligatory for them. He said, "If I had not been compassionate to my community, I would have commanded them to use the siwak every time they did wudu'.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari.)

There is also the tradition about the night prayer and the one forbidding them to fast continuously and the one about his dislike of entering the Ka'ba lest it became incumbent on his community and his desire that his Lord should make his curse against them a mercy to them. When he heard a child weeping, he would shorten the prayer.

An instance of his compassion was that he called on his Lord and made a compact with Him saying, "If ever I curse a man or make an invocation against him, make it zakat for him and mercy, prayer, purification and an act of drawing-near by which he will draw near to you on the Day of Rising.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari and Abu Hurayra)

When his people rejected him, Jibril came to him and said, "Allah has heard what your people say to you and how they reject you. He has ordered the angels of the mountains to obey whatever you tell them to do." The angel of the mountains called him, greeted him and said, "Send me to do what you wish. If you wish, I will crush them between the two mountains of Makka." The Prophet said, "Rather, I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins those who will worship Allah alone and not associate anything with Him.” (Muslim and al-Bukhari and the Six Books)

Ibn al-Munkadir related that Jibril told the Prophet, "Allah has ordered heaven, earth and mountains to obey you." He said, "Reprieve my community. Perhaps Allah will turn to them." (Mursal hadith)

'A'isha said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was never given a choice between two things but that he chose the easier of the two."

Ibn Mas'ud said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was careful when he admonished us, fearing he would tire us." (Muslim and al-Bukhari)

'A'isha was riding an unruly camel which was recalcitrant and started to hit it repeatedly, The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "You must have compassion." (Al-Bayhaqi)

Mohammad's manners and disposition

"By the grace of Allah, you are gentle towards the people; if you had been stern and ill-tempered, they would have dispersed from round about you" (translation of Qur'an 3:159)

About himself the prophet (pbuh) said
"Allah has sent me as an apostle so that I may demonstrate perfection of character, refinement of manners and loftiness of deportment."

By nature he was gentle and kind hearted, always inclined to be gracious and to overlook the faults of others. Politeness and courtesy, compassion and tenderness, simplicity and humility, sympathy and sincerity were some of the keynotes of his character. In the cause of right and justice he could be resolute and severe but more often than not, his severity was tempered with generosity. He had charming manners which won him the affection of his followers and secured their devotion. Though virtual king of Arabia and an apostle of Allah, he never assumed an air of superiority. Not that he had to conceal any such vein by practice and artifice: with fear of Allah, sincere humility was ingrained in his heart. He used to say,
"I am a Prophet of Allah but I do not know what will be my end."

In one of his sermons calculated to instill the fear of Allah and the day of reckoning in the hearts of men, he said,
"O people of Quraish be prepared for the hereafter, I cannot save you from the punishment of Allah; O Bani Abd Manaf, I cannot save you from Allah; O Abbas, son of Abdul Mutalib, I cannot protect you either; O Fatima, daughter of Muhammad, even you I cannot save."

He used to pray,
"O Allah! I am but a man. If I hurt any one in any manner, then forgive me and do not punish me."

He always received people with courtesy and showed respect to older people and stated:
"To honor an old man is to show respect to Allah."
He would not deny courtesy even to wicked persons. It is stated that a person came to his house and asked permission for admission. The prophet (pbuh) remarked that he was not a good person but might be admitted. When he came in and while he remained in the house, he was shown full courtesy. When he left Aiysha said,
"You did not think well of this man, but you treated him so well."
The prophet (pbuh) replied,
"He is a bad person in the sight of Allah who does not behave courteously and people shun his company bacause of his bad manners."

He was always the first to greet another and would not withdraw his hand from a handshake till the other man withdrew his. If one wanted to say something in his ears, he would not turn away till one had finished .

He did not like people to get up for him and used to say,
"Let him who likes people to stand up in his honour, he should seek a place in hell." .
He would himself, however, stand up when any dignitary came to him. He had stood up to receive the wet nurse who had reared him in infancy and had spread his own sheet for her. His foster brother was given similar treatment. He avoided sitting at a prominent place in a gathering, so much so that people coming in had difficulty in spotting him and had to ask which was the Prophet (pbuh). Quite frequently uncouth bedouins accosted him in their own gruff and impolite manner but he never took offence.
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He used to visit the poorest of ailing persons and exhorted all muslims to do likewise ". He would sit with the humblest of persons saying that righteousness alone was the criterion of one's superiority over another. He invariably invited people be they slaves, servants or the poorest believers, to partake with him of his scanty meals .

Whenever he visited a person he would first greet him and then take his permission to enter the house. He advised the people to follow this etiquette and not to get annoyed if anyone declined to give permission, for it was quite likely the person concerned was busy otherwise and did not mean any disrespect (Ibid).

There was no type of household work too low or too undignified for him. Aiysha has stated,

"He always joined in household work and would at times mend his clothes, repair his shoes and sweep the floor. He would milk, tether, and feed his animals and do the household shopping."

He would not hesitate to do the menial work of others, particularly of orphans and widows (Nasi, Darmi). Once when there was no male member in the house of the companion Kabab Bin Arat who had gone to the battlefield, he used to go to his house daily and milk his cattle for the inhabitants .